


The Demon's Fist

by Kneeshee



Series: Demon Baby [6]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Robin: Son of Batman (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Clan Politics, He's an okay parent, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Protective Slade Wilson, Sorry Not Sorry, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Talia is a good mom, The Wayne come in later, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Tiger Mom Talia, Timeline What Timeline, he's learning, pseudo siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2020-10-20 09:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20673404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kneeshee/pseuds/Kneeshee
Summary: If you want to know more about this universe or see snippets of what I planned or just didn’t or will probably not make it into the story....Join me on my discord server.https://discord.gg/5ejGpQ





	1. |overview|

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know more about this universe or see snippets of what I planned or just didn’t or will probably not make it into the story....
> 
> Join me on my discord server.
> 
> https://discord.gg/5ejGpQ

**Ra Al Ghul: **

The Demon's Head.

Co Founder of the League of Shadows.

Leader of the League of Shadows.

Guardian of the Lazarus Pits.

Danger to Society.

Favored Child: Talia

Official Favored Grandchild: Damian

Unofficial Favorite Grandchild: Jamila

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Dusan: **

The White Ghost

Exiled League of Shadows Operative

Danger to Society

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Talia (Taaliah): **

Daughter of the Demon

The Demon's Head

Woman who recites the Quran often

Dew of Heaven

CEO of Head Industries

Arabian Princess

Age: Unknown

Status: Alive

** Nyssa (Anissa): **

The Red Claw

The Beginning

The Exiled One

Russian Princess

Age: Unknown

Status: Alive

_ Note: Wanted Dead or Alive _

** Mara (Amaarah): **

The Demon's Fist Thumb

Daughter of the White Ghost

Adopted by Talia Al Ghul

Age: Thirteen

Status: Alive

** Damian: **

The Son of the Bat

Robin

The Blood Prince

Arabian Prince

Age: Thirteen

Status**: **Alive

** Athanasia: **

The Daughter of the Bat

Arabian Princess

Age: Thirteen

Status: Alive

** Jason: **

Heir to the Demon

Red Hood

Red Ronin

Born Again Prince

Twice Born Prince

Prince of Gotham

Age: Nineteen

Status: Alive

** Jamila: **

Rightful Heir to the Demon

Rightful Demon's Head

Demon of Death

League's Hope

Russian Princess

Age: Eighteen

Status: Alive

** Connor: **

Lazarus Prince

Red Arrow

Prophecy Child

Korean Prince

Age: Eighteen

Status: Alive

**Suren Darga:**

Prince of Lu'un Darga

Protector of Lazarus' Heart

Adopted by Jason Todd

Lazarus Heart

Age: Thirteen

Status: Alive

** Theseus: **

Little Devil

Age: Seven Months

Status: Alive

* * *

**Future Timeline**

**Ra Al Ghul:**

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Dusan: **

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Talia (Taaliah): **

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Nyssa (Anissa): **

Age: Unknown

Status: Deceased

** Mara (Amaarah): **

Age: Eighteen

Status: Alive

** Damian: **

Age: Eighteen

Status**: **Alive

** Athanasia: **

Age: Eighteen

Status: Alive

** Jason: **

Age: Twenty-Four

Status: Deceased

** Jamila: **

Age: Twenty Three

Status: Deceased

** Connor: **

Age: Twenty Three

Status: Deceased

** Theseus: **

Age: Five

Status: Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where you come if you need to remember ages and titles. 
> 
> You can chat with Jamila and the rest of the Al Ghul clan on tumblr @thedemonheads or you can yell at me on tumblr @kneesheee & @jaytodd2


	2. |prologue|

The end was near.

It was the war to end all wars.

Pain and destruction emerged in all corners of the known universe.

It was frightening.

And yet, our heroes fought hard and tirelessly against their vast number of enemies. The Amazons of Themyscira and Bana-Mighdall fought a meaninglessly endless battle against the First Born and Circe. Even the help of the Tamaran Princess, Koriand’r, made no difference as she helped her friends Donna and Artemis. The Kingdom of Atlantis was fighting a battle on two fronts as Black Manta attacked one end and Prince Orm attacked from another. The various Lantern factions were once again at war drawing Kyle away from his lover. The Justice League tried to contain the battles popping up across the globe while defending the planet from Darkseid in space. The Lords of Order and other “good” mages fought day in and day out against Klarion and his Lords of Chaos. It didn’t help that the “evil” mages made the battles harder. And though Vandal Savage was searching for him, our dear Roy Harper fought alongside Jason and Bizarro as the Untitled proved to still be roaming around.

To put it lightly---

Jamila was pissed.

Her life had finally been looking up. She was free of the League. She had a bigger and better family. Her son was free of his heritage. She was happy.

But that thrice-damned asshole, Vandal, and his admittedly beautiful daughter, Scandal, fucked everything up. They had the audacity to declare war on the League of Shadows. The Al Ghul and Darga clans in particular.

Jamila knew she should’ve slept with the woman when she had the chance.

It had been one of her more pleasurable orders her grandfather declared of her before his homophobia rang its ugly head and called it off.

Either way, she just knew the woman had to be sexually frustrated. She could’ve given the woman the best time of her life, but no. Her orders had been changed and she had her eyes set on the Enchantress at the time. (She was also sleeping with Cheshire but that wasn’t really important.)

An explosion rocked the building that she was in.

She needed to hurry and get out to make it back to the meeting point. She didn’t want to think of what was happening to her Theseus while she wasn’t there.

Damn the Savages for declaring war on her family. He was to never know the life of an assassin no matter what his father thought.

Jamila choke. His father. She _loved_ him. He had made her feel human. He treated Theseus as the prince he technically was. And they took him from them. From her. She remembers it as if it were yesterday. She had left Theseus in the care of her father and sister. She had come to back Nanda Pardat because Jason was having problems as the Heir. (The man was good, but he hadn’t been raised to rule them. There were still unspoken rules and laws to follow. Some in which her cousins wouldn’t know.) But instead of finding her cousin, her aunt was standing before her looking far too pale for comfort. Alarms rang throughout the compound as she was led through the building. They made it to the medical wing. Jamila had thought she would see Jason in one of the rooms. But it was Shisui. His eyes had been ripped out and his throat had been slit. Burned marks had littered the side of his body.

Vandal had done that.

His men had been ordered to decimate the clans of the League. The Uchiha’s had been one of the first and last to fall by the time Jason and Talia armed their forces.

Theseus was the only Uchiha left. He was only four years old and he had been forced to lose the other half of his heritage. He was only four years old, and she was following her grandfather’s footsteps forcing him to learn the ways of the demon. He was a smart boy. A genius. He followed the path of her and his father, but it wasn’t the path she had planned for him.

Another explosion rocked the building.

Right, she had a job to do.

\--

They had been running. Jamila clutching Theseus to her desperately as the rest of the Demon’s Fist chased after them. Theseus’ ink green irises had bled red with one tomoe on one side and two on the other. The notes the Uchiha’s had left called it a Sharingan.

Jamila called it another destructive legacy. But so far, it kept her son alive. It helped him picked up his training faster. He had officially joined as the last member of the Demon’s Fist. His cousins, Damian, Mara, and Athanasia and their clan cousin, Suren Darga, were the other members.

And now, they were on their last leg. Vandal had finally found how to activate and control the Lazarus’ Heart pit. The only pit that Ra Al Ghul and Den Darga had studied and worked on together. He needed the blood of an Al Ghul and a Darga to activate it.

There were only five Al Ghuls and one Darga left alive. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered the deaths of each of her family members. Her aunt. Her brothers and sister. Her father. Her cousin. Her mother. She was the last of a generation. She felt sick.

[_Nyssa laid sprawled out on the ground with blood pooling around her. A chunk of her side was missing even as their dormant healing ability struggled to heal her. Connor had her hands clasped in his on one side and Jamila stared at her in disbelief on the other. _

_A bloody smile was on their mother’s face. “I have made a lot of mistakes in life, but none worse than not being the mother that you two needed. I should’ve done better. With you, Connor. You deserved better than what I gave you. And you, Jamila. I had a second chance to be the mother that you needed, and I failed. I don’t deserve either of your forgiveness, but I crave it anyway. Go. Run. Don’t look back. Riches of untold amounts have been placed for your capture or your death.”_

_“Mother—”_

_“Go. Leave. Be safe. Live long, my prince and princess. I love you.”_

_Their rage could be felt for miles as they grieved together for their mother. The bodies left in their wake were only the beginning.]_

“Cousin, we must hurry,” she heard Damian tell her as she had been unconsciously slowing down. He took Theseus from her arms. It took all her strength to not tear his arms out of his sockets. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t get lost in her grief. She made peace with their deaths even if her mother had been the first to go.

“Go. I won’t be long,” she tells him as she tries to center herself. She was better than this. She had better control of herself for this. They were on their last legs now. She had to get them away before they could die. She was the Demon’s head. A title she had long ago thrown away. A title that had washed over her as Lazarus was ripped from her body. She was a princess no matter how far forgotten or illegitimate. She had a duty to her protect her people.

Damian nodded his head before continuing forward.

The plan she had was risky. So risky that she didn’t even bother telling Damian and the others about it. Some sort of weapon that Jason had confiscated after the Blue Idiot (_Dick Grayson. Lying in a mess of broken limbs. Damian’s screams of anguish. A flicker of a demon thought perished.) _had gotten himself flung into a different universe.

Jason had studied the device thoroughly. After his trip with Donna and Kyle (_the lover. Eyes unseeing. Body blue from the cold of space. Throat ripped viscously out. Jason snarling with anger. Flaming daggers circling his whole being. Teal eyes flickering red.), _Jason knew more about the multiverse than anyone in the Al Ghul clan. He learned how to control it and then he hid it. But Jamila was smart and no matter how far she ran, she could still hear the whispers of Nanda Pardat.

It brought them to Ethiopia. Magdala Valley. Her aunt Talia (_skin as bare as the day she was born. Her body violated as her flesh had been cut directly from her body. Face slack in a stubborn frown. Choke marks on her skin. Athanasia spewing violently. The growls erupting from her throat. A presence clinging to her soul) _had bought the land. She and Wayne Enterprises built an orphanage right over it. Jason ran it himself. Jamila knew that down in his hidden office in the basement levels hid not only the device but the frozen head of Joker himself.

He had always been one for dramatics.

Her heart ached thinking about him but it was one oh so familiar. She pushed past the pain as she finally straightened and headed on towards the others. She stopped short as she heard the sounds of feet running on the floor above of her and her eyes widened as she rushed onwards.

The five of them were huddled together in a corner. Theseus had tears streaming down his face as Damian shushed him quietly. The eighteen-year-old ran a comforting hand through his hair as Jamila went about the motions of locking the lower level down.

“You are the Demon’s Fist,” Jamila declared as she bypassed Jason’s security to get to the weirdly pretzel shaped device. She could hear Damian’s sharp intake of breath and she knew he knew what she was holding. “You are the League’s only hope. I have a mission for you. Do you accept?”

She turned towards them. And it was like looking into a mirror. She remembered running missions with Jason at her side. Cheshire on another. She remembered the young Talon that worked with them on occasion. Rose was at her side back before the other knew of their relation. The assassins of the Light.

The four oldest of the five nodded their heads. This was their Demon’s Head speaking. They swallowed down the grief they felt looking at her. They knew this was her last stand. She had taken care of them for the last three years. She held them securely as they raged and screamed as grief struck them down each and every time. She had slinked out the shadows with nothing but the clothes on her back and her son in her arms as she took down anyone that stood in her way.

She held no demon in her and yet, she had never looked more demonic with bodies falling to ground by the dozens surrounding her. She was a demon in a way no other had ever been. Not even Etrigan could match her.

She took each of them and ran. Ran from their histories. Ran from their legacies. Ran from their families. She protected them. Each scar added to her body was a trophy. A promise that she’d lived the next day to see them to safely.

She hid them away from weeks on end as their allies fought for them. Died for them. She trained them for hours on end not caring about their huffs of pain. She trained until they could barely move. She trained them until they went from good to great. From better to the best. From wonderful to phenomenal.

She was only twenty-three and she made them into something that would mark the world for eons to come.

They knew her in a way that no other had ever known. Not even her cherished Jason. They saw her the way that Jason did. They even saw her in the way that Jason couldn’t. When she found his body and she finally _broke_. (_Throat slit. Arms ripped off his body. Heart ripped out of his chest. Legs saw off. His body spread out as he was crucified. Organs thrown across the room. No one said anything when she finally set fire to his body) _Every tear and crack that she been holding together through sheer willpower and spite had crashed down. Her wails and despair could send the strongest man to their knees. They had felt it then. Something that had seemed so impossible. The presence of Lazarus was there, and they could find no explanation. It should have been impossible. He had been cleansed from their souls to the point that Jamila nearly died getting him out.

And yet he was there.

He was there now as she looked at them.

A hint of a smile danced across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. She hadn’t smiled since the attack that gave Theseus his Sharingan. Her son had barely made it out that fight alive. She had lost her right ear with a scar that ran down the length of her body.

“I will be sending you back in time. Five years before now. Your mission is to warn our family for what is to come and to stop it at all costs. There will be no designated leader for this mission. This isn’t even a mission anymore. It is a matter of survival.”

Her voice wasn’t even the same soft twinkle. It was hardened from grief and rage. A dangerous line that she had been walking since she first learned of her lover’s death. Since she witnesses the death of her mother. It had been five years, but Jamila still didn’t know if her sister or father were alive. She hadn’t even been there when her last two brothers lost their lives, but she grieved for them all the same.

Her head tilted to the side as she heard footsteps drawing closer to them and she breathed deeply through her nose. She couldn’t keep them here any longer.

She hurriedly set the device to the time they needed to get to before handing it over Mara. Bending down, she hugged Theseus tightly to her. She prayed to whatever gods that were left that her son would be okay. This wasn’t the life she chose for him, but it was the one he had to live.

She looked up with aged eyes at the four eighteen-year-olds above her. She took these children and turned them into warriors. Into soldiers. Into killers. Even Damian who hadn’t killed since he had first left the league had been drawn back in and stained his hands deep in red. But that was the life of war. Kill or be killed.

The footsteps were closer now and she pressed a kiss to each of their heads.

Here was where the Demon’s Head made their last stand.

Each of them had tears pouring down their eyes. Even her sweet child. Theseus, who was too smart for his own good, who was too young to know death… he knew what was going to happened even as he curled into Suren’s arms.

The door opened right as Mara pressed the button to send them back through time.

Jamila turned and ducked a knife flew past her head. For the first time in five years… even though it should have been impossible… Jamila gave into the presence of Lazarus. Her eyes glowed green as she felt a rush that she had long forgotten. She heard herself laugh mixed with the voice of Lazarus.

Her opponents brought out the big stuff. She knew this would be her last battle. She couldn’t bring herself to regret it. Her ending was just like her beginning. Lazarus at her side as she took on the world.

“You’re too late,” she laughed mockingly. The daggers under her skin ripped themselves out. One half as cold as the depths of space and the other burned as hot as the Earth’s core. “They’ve gone to where you can’t win.”

_Be safe. Live long, my princes and princesses. I love you._

Jamila was no more.


	3. |1|

The family had been relaxing in their short reprieve since Nyssa’s attack months ago. Jason and Jamila were both still weak from having Lazarus ripped from their bodies. Jason made weaker as the council demanded another blood ritual to even consider his legitimacy to the throne. They still struggled with the duties pressing upon them. This was the first night that Jamila had been allowed out of the medical ward and even then, they were only in the hall adjacent.

She despised the feeling of being so weak and helpless, but her health was fluctuating every passing hour. She had nothing to do with her time except dote on her Theseus and even that wasn’t always consistent. His blessing still hadn’t come to pass, and more often than not, his father was there to spoil him.

It made her envious. He wasn’t the one trapped in hospital room with no entertainment. She wasn’t even allowed to train in the slightest. Not even simple sit-ups. She knew that postpartum depression was a thing especially coupled with her fragile mentality now that she didn’t have Lazarus to lean on, but still…

She was the Demon personified. She should have more liberties than what they gave her.

But as she sat surrounded by her family, she couldn’t voice her complaints. She was weak if the way that it took most of her strength to sit straight on the lounge chair was any indication. Jamila loved to be pampered and waited on hand and foot, but she was also stubbornly independent.

She despised asking for help which was why she sat pouting grumpily that as the wounds on her side demanded reprieve. They would just have to scream at because she was not going to waste her breath.

And she had more important things to worry about, such as planning out Theseus’ life outside of the league. Where they were going to move to as she refused to let him grow up listening to the whispered words of Nanda Pardat. She hadn’t officially even lived in the main compound until she was fifteen. There was the underwater compound that she was raised in at Lake Baikal. It had been turned into a safe house and abandoned the day she was moved to Nanda Pardat.

There was the compound of Mount Sinai where Mara and Damian trained to become the Demon’s Fist. It had also been abandoned. Now more than ever since Mother kidnapped Mara and her following rescue.

Even Mount Haku where Athanasia had been raised would be a good choice. Far away from civilization to keep any kidnappers and wrongdoers away.

She’d have to send for the best tutors in every subject. He could study standard martial arts when he turned twelve. A private schooling of his choosing would be suitable for his higher education at the collegiate level. She’d support whatever would be his choice of focus.

An Al Ghul clan member of the head family living a completely normal life. It sounded weird to her own ears.

But it was still infinitely better than being in Jason’s shoes. A part of her felt guilty of course. The title of Heir had been hers (no more than the title as Demon’s Head), but she abandoned it. For good reason of course as even now, the council wanted to marry her off and delegate her to a housewife role. Her own mother and aunt hadn’t even allowed such stupidity what made them think she would.

And with her father being such an immovable wall, countless of assassinations attempts had already been thwarted on her son’s life. The Shimura clan had been wiped out leaving only the children under the age of eighteen. Jason had been furious to learn of the proceedings and that was the only reason their clan head had been kept alive. Red Ronin had made a terrifying entrance back to the limelight as the man screams pierced through the night. (It had set Jason’s recovery backwards, but it had been worth it) (She and her lover watched it with satisfaction during the times Theseus slept soundly through the night).

Jamila tensed as smoke began to fill the room.

She heard the sound of weapons being drawn and she cursed her body for being so weak. Even with the healing factor she inherited from both her parents, Lazarus being brutally ripped from her soul had left a heartbreaking bruise on her body. She felt useless and her mind wove nightmares of who could be attacking. Who would they be after? Her son? She was too weak to protect him. She didn’t even have that weird crow charm Shisui gave her to summon him. Her baby boy was in danger and she could do nothing.

The smoke cleared and there was a group of people standing in the family room.

Every instinct she had screamed that they were dangerous deathly so, but her instincts also stated they could be trusted. That they were familiar, and she could see how familiar, but she wouldn’t- _couldn’t_ trust her eyes. Not these weak humane things. She would need _glasses _until her enhanced biology fixed the damage to them.

There were two girls, and three boys. Their eyes red rimmed but filled with grim determination.

They bore no clan markings except the youngest.

The youngest couldn’t have been more than five.

And looking into his eyes were like looking into a mirror.

Jamila sat frozen as she gazed upon. Intellectually, she knew that her aunt and cousins were in the room with her. Her brother and sister were standing close by. Her father stood protectively over Theseus’ bassinet.

The youngest one---

He looked so much like---

“Mother. It’s me. Theseus.”

Jamila fainted.

* * *

Were his eyes deceiving him?

Jason couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Theseus.

Little Theseus that was lying not even five feet from him was also standing before him. And then there were his other cousins. Damian and Athanasia looked like their parents’ twins. It was actually quite fucking scary. Mara’s curls had grown longer, and she looked so much like her mystery mother because there wasn’t a drop of Dusan in her. Even Suren let his hair grow out to the point that it was braided down his back.

And then there were the other things he could see. They all stood slightly at attention in a faux relaxed stature. He was sure if he even looked as if he was going to attack them, then they’d be up and out of the way faster than he could blink.

They looked like warriors. Like soldiers.

He could see the exact things that Jamila was trying to shield Theseus from in them. He didn’t see his younger cousins, his younger brother, or his adopted brother… all he saw was himself as he looked at them. He saw the small flinches and the haunted look in their eyes.

Eyes of killers. Eyes of someone who didn’t even know how many people they had killed. Even Little Theseus.

What happened to them? What happened that Jamila allowed Theseus to follow in the footsteps of the Al Ghul legacy?

“Mother,” Theseus gasped jerking forward as if to reach for Jamila. She had fainted after Theseus introduced himself though Jason knew it was from her wounds more than the shock. He had seen her squirming a little uncomfortably, but he knew she’d sooner stab him before asking for help.

Damian stepped forward in front of the group, “We’re from five years into the future. And we need your help to stop the end of the world.”

And here Jason thought he was going to be able to get some paperwork done.

* * *

Sitting quietly, Talia listened to these older versions of her children speak of their future. This dark future in which they came.

But Talia didn’t get to where she was in life to not notice the things they weren’t saying.

The pain in their hearts.

The rage in their spirits.

The grief in their eyes.

There was sorrow surrounding them as they spoke. The whispers of Nanda Pardat were silenced as their future unravel before them.

There was anguish in them as they talked about their lives and they spoke of how Jamila cared for them. How she once again picked up her sword and stepped back into the life of an assassin.

It hit her then.

Talia hadn’t wanted to acknowledge.

She wanted to believe this a foolish dream.

Their future was very grim, and they were still mourning. Jamila sacrificed herself so that they could get away.In a bid to save them, Jamila placed a heavy burden on them. They hadn’t even had the time to come to terms with that before they were immediately sat down for testing and interrogations.

Cupping her fingers under her chin, she looked them over, “You have given me much to think on my children. It seems like we much too look forward to in the near future. From your words, I can infer that Vandal is on the verge of finding this Lazarus pit. It must be one of the few that Father and Lord Den worked on together previously. I will send out squads tomorrow to begin searching though I doubt we’d be able to find much.”

Thinking over everything that they have told them, Jason leant forward in his seat, “We will have to call in every operative that we know. Maybe refurbish some of our abandoned bases to hide our civilians. You said that Black Mask and Prince Orm had attacked Atlantis… if we start planning now, we should get them on our side. If Vandal wants a war, we need to have the most allies. The world had been divided fighting their own battles which led to Vandal being able to focus his attention purely on us. If we cut him off, we’d have a better chance.”

Talia nodded her head in agreement. They had a lot of allies to begin with, but if they strengthened those ties and added more… Vandal wouldn’t be able to demolish them so easily. They had five years before Vandal realized that he needed the blood of an Al Ghul and Darga to attack this mysterious pit. Five years to change the name of the game to their side.

Jason sat back a little in his chair as he began to plan. Talia was proud and worried. Her son already had too much on his plate with learning how to run the League, managing his lifestyle as Red Hood, managing his empire, and the side jobs he took as Red Ronin. Planning out a five-year long attack was honestly too much, but she knew he wouldn’t step away from this.

Especially when Mara had brought up his friends’ death… when she spoke of how broken Jamila became when he himself had die. Talia had known from the moment the two cousins met each other so many years ago that Jason was going to change Jamila in ways they never thought possible. It was a long time coming ever since she had heard Jamila refuse to kill the boy when he was Robin. When she met him again, a connection that had been pulled taunt finally snapped into place.

Even in deep into the control of Lazarus’ rage, Jason managed to make Jamila believe in humanity again. Made her believe that she was more than demon in human skin. Made her give people outside of her family chances to connect with her. Made her give her trust to him.

Jason wouldn’t betray that trust. He’d do whatever he could to keep her standing strong because he _knew _that she’d do the same for him.

Talia hummed, “We might as well add the Court of Owls onto this list. They hold no interest in Richard any longer, but they have been rebuilding their forces. Gotham wasn’t the only place they had a foothold.”

Jason and the futuristic version of Damian shot her wide-eyed looks. Talia only shrugged helplessly, “The Court have been long time allies of the League. The Bawma clan is their designated name inside of the empire. We supply them with agents that have displeased us but are not worthy to stain our blades.”

Jason pressed his hands to his face, “I'm still going to have to warn Dick just in case they do try anything.”

Talia inclined her head, “Though I do wish to know what Vandal end game is… attacking the League isn’t his style. Especially not for a Lazarus pit.”

The four teenagers chuckled a little brokenly as their eyes darted towards Jamila and back again, “Funny. That’s what Jamila said when news first broke that it was him.”

Smiling softly, Talia could see how the children seemed to break just a little bit more. She felt more than she saw Slade come to her side. She wondered if he could see the same things as she. If he could see how much his grandson looked so much like him as he stood with his head held straight. Could he see the demon in the boy? Did he look like the second coming of Deathstroke? Talia could see that the boy had been trained to be built for speed.

Did he see how their mistakes---how their failures as parents reflected in these children before them?

“It still doesn’t explain why Savage would attack the League,” Slade stated. Talia watched as the kids stood impossibly straighter at his voice.

“Grandpa,” Theseus whispered, and Slade froze. Talia froze as tears welled up in his eyes. The young five-year-old rushed forward and threw himself at Slade’s legs. “_Mama didn’t know if you were alive in the end. She cried for you. She tried to go back to get you after the attack, but she couldn’t because we needed to run. But you had survived and then we didn’t hear from you again_.”

The older version of Suren walked forward slowly even as Slade looked down at his grandson with wide eyes. Suren knelt down beside the young boy, “Come on, Theo. Its okay. Its okay. I’m here.”

Talia felt a part of herself crumble as the walls surrounding the children crashed down fully. Suddenly, it was easy to see how _tired_ they were. She could see how they were one second from collapsing.

She stood up.

“Come. You will stay in Jamila’s quarters. Slade, could you take Jamila and the babe back to the medical ward. We will finish this conversation at another time.”

She had some calls to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can chat with Jamila and the rest of the Al Ghul clan on tumblr @thedemonheads or you can yell at me on tumblr @kneesheee & @jaytodd2
> 
> Jamila's part was actually suppose to be a part of last chapter but I decided to add it here.
> 
> Jason and Jamila are still feeling the aftereffects of the removal of Lazarus. And Jamila is a mix of the removal of Lazarus, her emergency C-section, being turned into a child, and being turned back. Her enhanced healing that she received from Slade isn't working as her body is confused and trying to fix itself. 
> 
> in regards to Theseus, he did meet future Slade at one point. The man helped train them during the war. An attack happened (the one where future Jamila lost her ear and Theseus almost died) and Slade made them run to safety. He got out but they never got the chance to meet up again. He only knew Slade, his mother, and his cousins. He couldn't remember anyone else because he was too young and they had died. 
> 
> I know Jason's part is short, but there will be longer chapters in the future.


	4. |2|

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-Beta'd

Theseus wasn’t a babe. He was young. He was strong. He was firm in his beliefs.

His mother was a goddess in human skin. A force of nature. A storm that you wouldn’t see until she obliterated you. He was barely old enough to understand everything, but he knew that his mother was not someone to be trifled with. 

Then there were his cousins. He remembered the conversations that they had about demons. Theseus didn’t really understand much from that either, but he remembers the flashes of something _evil and angry _that came from them whenever they felt too deep in their grief. His special eyes could tell that something was not quite right--- quite human about them. His mother had always said to not look at as something bad, but to think of it as a duckling trying to find its way home. Therefore, if Theseus had any words to describe his cousins, he would call them demon ducklings.

And now here in the past, he got the chance to meet this rest of his family. The ones that his cousins and mother spoke about in awed whispers. His grandfather who Theseus knew that Jamila became so close to him that they were basically attached to the hip. He knew that they hadn’t always had a close relationship… that he had only known about her for as long as Theseus breathed, but Jamila spoke of him as he had raised her himself.

He knew of his aunt and uncles. He knew of how his mother saved his uncle from his grandmother. He knew of his mother learning sing language just so she could speak freely with his other uncle. He knows of his aunt that took “one look at me and decided that it was time to do know all that prissy girly shit sleepover and tea party shit”. He also knew that they both enjoyed it, and that they regularly had sleepovers where they painted each other’s nails and talk about past missions and gossiped about rumors in through the underworld. He knew that the four of them frequently went out for brunch whenever they had the free time before everything went to hell. He remembers the few pictures that she carried around on her. A group shot with all four of them together, and a few with each of them holding him as a baby. He knows they all had special names for him. Theo

He knew of his father from his Athanasia as she had been the one to see the relationship bloom between his parents. She told him how the first time she saw his father holding Theseus… his special eyes were activated so he could never forget the moment. He knew of how smart and humble he was according to his mother’s muttering when she thought he was asleep. He knew he shared his father’s curls. He had his mother’s eyes. When he smiled, it was like looking at her father as he doused his food in spices. He had been trained for efficiently like his mother, but he been trained for speed like his father. Similar as they may be, but his mother made sure he knew the difference.

[_“if anything were to happen to me, Habibi, I want you to run. Run as fast as your legs can carry you and then run some more. Listen to the whispers of the wind and they will guide to a safe place. Run and never look back. If anything happened to me, run and know that your father and I will follow in the wisps in air._]

He gazed upon his great-aunt. The one that he knew his mother worshipped. Theseus could tell as she looked upon, he and his cousins that she loved them. Her eyes trailed over them slowly dissecting them and putting them back together. She was the Matriarch to their clan. A force to be reckoned with. Damian had always stated how she made his father, the legendary Batman, tremble at her feet when she felt passionate enough. Suren said she smiled so softly even as she played the people of the world like a game of chess. She just had a strong presence that seemed to linger even after she left. Athanasia spoke of how if she really wanted to then she could have ruled the world with careful planning. Mara spoke of a woman that saw them as weapons and precious gems wrapped into people. She spoke of how his great aunt bundled them up in her love even as she set them loose into their world.

And there was godfather, his cousin, and uncle rolled into one. Mother never spoke about him. Her eyes would shine with pain and grief and something wild. Her body would shut down, and when Theseus looked at her with his special eyes, she seemed to glow a greenish color. Athanasia said that Jason was the one to make her human. Each of them had spoken of strength and his heart. How he risen from the gutter to fly above the land. How his wings had gotten clipped, but he preserved. How he went from robin to a falcon. If his mother was a goddess, then his godfather was a god. Theseus could see that even in his weakened form (and Theseus could tell that he was sporting injuries) that it would be hard pressed to beat the man.

[_He really wanted to be trained by the man that managed to bring his family together and hold on to it. The one who managed make his mother feel to the point that she let his father into her life. He just wanted to thank him for paving the way that allowed for Theseus to be born. He just wanted to tell him how grateful he was that the man had been given another chance at life. Anther chance to spread his love and care and magic over the world. The world would be horrible without him. Theseus knows that personally.]_

Theseus hadn’t met his father yet. Though he’d admit that it had been only a few hours since they’ve landed in this strange time. He wondered what the man would think of him when he saw him. Would he be proud? Would he be disappointed? Would he look at him with such heartbroken rage like his mother when she thought he wasn’t looking? He remembered the times she would hold him close and whisper that this wasn’t the life she wished for him. He could see the bitterness in her every time he picked up a sword.

On the nights he couldn’t sleep, he’d silently watch her as she trained body. She had been trained from a young age. Even younger than he. As soon as her legs had been able to support her body, her physical training started. Once she had been able to sit up on her own, she was holding onto plastic and wooden knives. No matter how much her aunt had tried… she was born a weapon first and a child second.

She never wanted that for Theseus. She had been angry at the world. At Vandal. At her family. At herself for the life that she had to force upon him. How she had push him beyond his limits despite how much he cried and bled just so that he would be able to live the next day.

She had hated it all, but she never stopped loving Theseus.

He couldn’t help but to wonder if his father would feel the same.

Theseus stared up at the ceiling of this compound. There was a light humming in the air as if he was being judged. Nanda Pardat.

His mother and cousins had always spoken about it during his training and whenever they had the free time to spare. It was their home and it meant different things to them. There was something spiritual in the air. He could feel it in his bones.

He felt at peace. He felt at home. It was as if something that had been screaming at him since the day, he had been born had finally quiet down. A place of healing and enlightenment. He could feel it in his soul the peace it brought.

He didn’t understand why his cousins felt so bitter and uneasy yet strangely relaxed as they settled in, but Theseus loved it. A flash of green flickers out of his peripheral, but Theseus doesn’t turn towards it. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the onslaught of bad dreams.

His mother... the one who had raised him stayed behind … he was young, but he was not an idiot.

Letting his senses open, he embraced the peace of Nanda Pardat as he finally succumbs to sleep.

\--

Jason’s morning was spent flittering through countless meetings with the council, trips down to the medical ward, observing training, and going over reports. He was tired, but he could admit to being thankful for distraction from the news the time travelers brought.

The war to end all wars was just around the corner and they were nowhere near prepared. It didn’t help the fact that none of the squads sent out to investigate the all known Lazarus pits had reported in yet. It hadn’t been long since they had been sent out, but he was hoping that they have heard something. 

Then there was the timeline in itself. Talia had people pouring over the schematics to the machine the time travelers brought back with them. The kids (and wow, could he really call them kids when they were technically the same age as him?) had told him they only got the machine because Dickhead had gotten himself sent to another universe. (Where apparently Jason had an older half-sister… wow.) Which means that with the war preparations, would Dick still get himself sent to this other universe (where he apparently kept a lot of shit from happening to the family such as stopping Jason from dying)?

He sat back in his seat as he looked at the various monitors in front of him. Jamila was feeding baby Theseus as her boytoy looked over his own mission reports on one screen. On another screen, Shiva and Slade and Ubu were scaring the new recruits as they put them through brutal training. He rose a brow when he saw Talia stroll into the room in her own training clothes.

She was going to fucking wreck them.

_ His _ Damian and cousins and adopted s<s>on </s>brother were attempting to make their way to their future counterparts’ room in Ra Al Ghul’s old quarters.

In there, Little Theseus was mediating while sitting on Mara’s back as she did pushups. Athanasia was doing pullups using the door. Suren was cooking in the small kitchen with the food that Talia had sent over that morning. Damian was doing some light katas in the corner.

They simultaneously looked like little soldiers while looking perfectly normal. He had sent Connor and Rose out that morning to send word to the Arrows, Speedsters, Super, Aqua, Wonder and Bat Families. Rose would be going to the Court of Owls and the Outlaws and by extension, the Lanterns.

Jason frowned slightly. The conference hall would need to be cleared out for the different people that were going to joining them for this meeting. It was going to be brutal. He sighed lightly as he reached for a blueberry scented _Apollon Cream_. His wounds had been healing nicely, but it was still nothing that he was used to with the pit waters flowing through his system. Luckily, he was able to start physical therapy tomorrow to begin rebuilding his strength.

Even Jamila was happy if the smile on her face was any indication. He knew from the doctors that her accelerated healing _finally _kicked in properly and she was able to start using the _Apollon Cream_.

Jason rose a brow at the screens when the kids finally managed to sneak into their counterparts’ quarters. They argued with each other for a few minutes before Theseus twitched and Older Damian (_he was just going to start calling him Damian and the younger version Dami.) _sighed before opening the door for them.

Jason hummed as Dami and the others froze at the sight of Damian staring at them with an unimpressed expression before he stood to the side and let them in. The teenager then looked right up at the camera watching them before nodding his head in acknowledgement and turning away.

A message appearing on the screen told him of how Rose and Connor managed to convince everyone to meet up in a week. Sighing, he had to prepare for everything a meeting that was going to give him a headache worse than Joker hitting him with that crowbar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaackkkk....
> 
> Okay, so I work a full-time job now and I've barely had time to write, but I finally learned a way to manage my schedule. So, be on the lookout as I get myself back into the feel of things okay. 
> 
> Also any My Hero Academia fans? I've got content getting ready to roll out for that fandom also.
> 
> And to my fellow Voltron fans... I've been writing some for my fic in that fandom also. 
> 
> Fairy Tale fans! I've got some ideas floating around my mind so give me some time to think of how to write them. 
> 
> Theseus’ part had been the hardest part because i needed him to sound like a kid but also like the baby genius that he technically is.
> 
> Let's talk shop. What have you all been up to? I feel like I lost that connection with you all. One of my best friends just had a baby boy and named me the godmother! Well technically, one of our other friends is the godmother and I'm the Fairy Godmother, but the thought still counts!!
> 
> xoxo Nesh


	5. |3|

Jamila looked down at her son and compared him to the boy she saw earlier. Her little boy. Her little <s>demon</s>… angel. He looked so much like a mixture of his father and her father that it was shocking. It was terrifying.

But the thing that scared her the most?

He looked so much like her.

A demon before a human.

A weapon before a person.

A solder before a child.

What the hell happened for her to allow that? Was she that bad of a mother? By the demon, she could almost **see **the blood on his hands.

A small thought crossed her mind, and her facial features turned cold and unforgiving. Vandal Savage. It was his fault also. The blame for her son’s life couldn’t lye solely on her.

She was his mother, but she didn’t have the best parental figures. (Who was she kidding? Aunt Talia was the best.) She did however know that they were supposed to protect you with their life and keep you safe from harm. (Then again, no one in her family had good parental figures. Not even grandfather).

Either way, she was going to rip that asshole into so many pieces that even traveling back through time couldn’t save him. She was going to make that bitch hurt so much that he’d feel it across the entire multiverse.

How dare he go against her family? Her people? Her clan? She may not bear the title of the Demon’s Head, but it doesn’t change what she is.

It doesn’t change that she is the Demon.

He would harm her people. She will make s_cream._

This war of his was already adding to so much stress to her beloved cousin. Jason hasn’t even healed completely. No. She won’t stop until she bore Vandal’s skin like a cloak.

Jamila could feel the rage building up in her as her thoughts turned darker. She wanted his head. She wanted his blood. His soul. His very essence. She wanted to paint the oceans red with his and his allies’ blood.

She braced herself against her son’s bassinet as her anger threaten to consume her. She tried to count to ten to get herself under control.

But how dare he?

They were trying so hard to turn away from the terrorism Grandfather sought.

So, how dare he?

Her put her people in danger. Her friends. Her family.

How dare he?

He killed Shisui. Aunt Talia. Her brothers.

HOW DARE HE?

He killed _Jason. _

Jamila felt a faint flicker of something not quite human flicker within her before her world went dark.

\--

Jason was typing away on the laptop in his room. He was getting in some last-minute planning in for the war council on tomorrow evening. Kyle was cuddled into his side. He had flown in earlier today (with more metals that made Roy and the R&D department weep). He took his future death with ease. Though that may be because Jason himself was about to pass out.

Moving the laptop from his lap and careful not to dislodge Kyle, Jason ran his hands through his hair in distress. Kyle _died. _Talia_ died. _He died a_gain. Fuck, _Jamila damn near reverted back to who she was before she died. Small shudders ran through his being. It was too much. It was all too much.

Didn’t he suffer enough? Didn’t his family, both of them, suffer enough?

And those kids… All five of them had the world resting on their shoulders and Jason wasn’t even sure if he could help them bear the weight of it.

What the hell was Jamila thinking?

But he knew didn’t it? Jamila was trying to save them in the only way she knew how.

Jason pressed his hands into his eyes. Jamila didn’t know though. That timeline she was so desperate to save them from was still going to be there. They were going to have to go back to that time and learn how to live without them. They were going to rebuild the league all on their own.

A new timeline was constructed sure, but the one that they originated from was still going to be there. She saved them, yet all she really managed was to buy them some time.

Jason’s shoulders shook with grief. He didn’t want this for them. He wanted them to be able to live. They were all finally free of the Al Ghul legacy and their destinies. It was time for them to grow on their own, and yet they failed them.

They failed all five of them.

He didn’t understand how the five of them could look at them with such awe, trust, and love. They all left them!

Jason didn’t startle when he felt hands wiping away at his cheeks. He leaned into the arms wrapping around as he tried to muffle his cries. How could he look at miniature version of those soldiers… those killers and not feel like a failure for not stopping their futures? How could he look at them and not feel like he was leading them down a path of blood and mayhem.

He was supposed to be their leader. Their older brother figure. Their godfather. He was supposed to make sure nothing ever hurt them.

Jason said nothing as self-hatred poured over him in waves even as Kyle just held him and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Jason choked back a sob. He got Kyle killed. It was his fault. He just knew it. Everything and everyone he learned to love died on him.

Kyle didn’t say anything, and Jason didn’t offer any explanations. But if Jason clutched closer to Kyle, because he couldn’t let the man go. He had to protect him even if it meant dying himself. Well only the two of them needed to know.

They had long since pass reached the place where they needed to talk to know what the other was thinking.

\--

Jason woke up tangled in Kyle’s arms. His head was lying on the other’s man chest directly above his heart. He laid there for a little while longer just listening to his heartbeat. He knew that he needed to get up soon to get the meeting hall ready and make sure everything was going to prepared. Everything had to be perfect if he had to convince the symbols of goodness to team up with criminals. Especially those that had Bruce whispering poison into their ears.

Yet when Kyle’s arms tightened around him, Jason said nothing but relax deeper into his arms. He trailed his gaze up towards his face and took in every detail. He couldn’t lose this. Vandal couldn’t win. And if he knew which exact Lantern from the other corps that took Kyle away from him… he’d shoved that damn mood ring up that bastard’s ass and make them choke on it.

Jason thought about the ring that he had hidden deep into the floorboards of his quarters back at the Outlaws HQ. The one made from that damned crowbar that Joker kept around for jokes. He once thought that he’d give that ring to Roy until reality crashed for both of them and they realized that the love they shared was brotherly. Roy slipping into his life and being the brother to him that Dick never managed. And yet, it was different when he first met Kyle. Mainly because the first thought was that yes, he was attractive, but the urge to punch him in the face quickly bypassed that.

Then he met Artemis and he thought about the ring again. But he saw her (and Kori) as the older sister figure that Babs could never be. (And no offense to Barbie, but he never wanted to be Dick Grayson in the first place).

But meeting Kyle again and remembering their adventure across the multiverse. Seeing him decked out like a freaking kaleidoscope. The ring was the farthest thing from his mind and the closest was making that walking glowstick fall in love with him. (Mission Accomplished, Jason.)

Jason swore to himself that after all of this was over… he was going to propose to Kyle. He was going to give him the ring. He was going to put his life in the other man’s hand, and he was going to be happy. They’d raise Suren together and maybe adopt a couple of alien babies. They’d live a long and peaceful life and finally retire together and spend the rest of their days on Outlaw Island.

He could see it all now. Jamila and Roy fighting over the spot of being his best man/woman before she judo flipped him and took the spot herself. Connor being the Kyle’s best man. Talia walking him down the aisle. Little Theseus being the ring bearer. Jason felt grief twist in his heart because his little Lian would’ve made the perfect flower girl. 

He could imagine how far Talia would go to make it the most extravagant wedding of the century. All the different alien beings coming from across the galaxy to watch them seal their lives with each other.

Jason suddenly surged forward filled with desperation and determination. He planted his lips firmly on Kyle’s before straddling him. He tried to pour every ounce of emotion he felt into the kiss. He only pressed his lips firmer on Kyle’s when he felt him responding.

“Marry me,” he whispered. “After this is all over, marry me. Don’t leave me. Please. Marry me.”

Kyle didn’t even have to respond. His answer had been yes, a long time ago.

\--

Jamila sat on Jason’s left quietly. She had woken up this morning in the infirmary after passing out in her son’s nursery. Apparently, Shisui had been stopping by for a late-night visit before he left out on his next mission of tracker down her mother when he heard a thump in the room. He had quickly entered ready to kill whoever dared to touch his son when he noticed her sprawled out on the floor.

He sent a crow to summon Itachi quickly to look over the room for anything that could’ve harmed her and Theseus as he rushed her to the infirmary. Apparently, her rage blinded her to her exhaustion and the lingering aches from her wounds.

Her family almost didn’t want to let her come to the meeting, but she had to show her face. The Al Ghuls had to show a united front before clans, and she wouldn’t even be able to sneak out afterwards when the _heroes _came rolling in.

The future versions of her cousins and son sat behind them whispering amongst themselves. She wished she still had Lazarus with her. These weak human ears where horrible. She didn’t see how people got anything done with them.

Kyle sat on the other side of her as close to Jason as he could get without destroying the set up, they were going for. Aunt Talia sat on Jason’s right with Roy on the side of her. Father, Ubu, and Lady Shiva flanked them from behind. The other outlaws sat around the table as close to Jason as they could get. Their alliance clear as day. A fact not even hidden as the bore the Al Ghul clan symbol on their clothing.

Jamila knew that while others didn’t that Shisui was sitting beside her covered by what he called a genjutsu. Even if she looked she knew he wouldn’t be there, but every once in a while she felt fingers ghosting along her legs.

She trailed her gaze over the heroes that were being shown into the room. Thank Lazarus, they had the mindset to move any of their less than legal operations to another base. (Thank the demons below, that Jason was looking into a place to relocate the league. That way they wouldn’t be sitting ducks for Vandal to pick off.) Her baby was squirming in her arms as he was distracted by all of these different faces.

_ Don’t get used to it son. I’ve fatally injured more than half the people here. And I’m sure most of them want me dead. _

A small smirk pulled on her lips when she saw the way the Blue Idiot was scowling in their direction. She and her family were decked out in their finest clothing looking as if they were getting ready to for a royal portrait. They didn’t even resemble the assassins that everyone knew they were.

[She also struggled very hard to not let her eyes drop from Wonder Woman’s face and down to her very, very, _very_ nice cleavage.]

Her gaze flickers across the heroes and she notices the fond smiles the Arrows shoot their direction even as Connor smiles goofily (for him) back at them. She notices the looks her half-brother, Joseph (<strike>Jericho</strike>) keep shooting her. She smiles softly back at him. Warm and inviting.

She’s going to embrace all her family.

She could feel the glare burning into her from the Bats’ as Jason leans over to whisper in her ear, _“You smile anymore softly and I’m going to think that you’ve been an angel instead of a demon all these years.”_

The scowl of disgust on her features makes him chuckle. It makes them seem more human and the two of them can see some of their guest relaxing in their seats. Some of them even laugh softly or gasp with amusement when she turns to meet the Bat siblings’ gazes’ head on and promptly stick her tongue out at them.

All eyes flickered towards Jason when he stood up. He trailed his gaze over the masses making eye contact with everyone and no one. Jamila pretended not to notice the pause he had for Kyle or the worried look he spared her.

“You all might be wondering what why I’ve requested this meeting,” Jason started, his voice commanding everyone’s attention. Even little Theseus cooed softly as he turned to look at his godfather. “Some of you may already know the basic details.”

Jamila reached her hand down and brushed her fingers against where she could feel Shisui’s lightly. She bent down a little and pressed a kissed to their son’s forehead.

“We’ve recently acquired knowledge of an upcoming, universe-wide attack that is shortly on its way to beginning.”

Jason’s eyes were dark and solemn as he looked over everyone before he flicked his gaze back to Kyle. They seemed to communicate without words. Jason took a deep breath and it was like it was struggling under the weight of the world. She reached her hand out to squeeze his bicep in comfort and she could see Aunt Talia doing the same from his other side. She returned the small smile that Kyle shot her way in thanks.

“In a few short months, the entire universe will be at war,” Jason continued. Batman’s voice cut through the air taking the attention away from her cousin. She could see him relax by a fraction.

“And just how did you get this information? How do we know its trustworthy?”

Jason, Jamila, and Talia all rose a brow at the man. Each of them raised a hand to calm down Ubu, Slade, and Shiva at the disrespect being shown. Even managing to calm down the warriors guarding the room. Jason stepped to the side as the future warriors moved forward.

“Everyone, meet the Demon’s Fist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i'm back for real this time. hopefully. no promises. my BFF nala was in the hospital suffering from pneumonia then this pandemic hit and we thought we almost lost her due to her low immune system and people not adhering to social distancing and just about everything else. but she took the test recently and her results came out negative. so there's that.
> 
> also the Bats might be there, but the Waynes wont come in until later. there’s a key difference. 
> 
> i had to add some fluff with jaykyle after jamila gave nothing but angst (and the angst that’s coming up behind it. hehehe. but does this mean a wedding one shot if they somehow manage to win? you’re damn right)
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter.
> 
> xoxo Nesh


	6. |4|

Chaos erupted after the introduction. The bats only needed to take one glance at Damian standing front and center of the group before yelling accusations. Another failed cloning experiment were their words. Talia sat stiffly in her seat as she remembers her father ordering the death of her child. 

With each new insult they threw out, the other heroes began to grow restless before starting to shout also. After all, why should they believe the words of notorious criminals? Why shouldn’t they lock them away right then and there and throw away the key.

Jason had long since sat down and lounged back in his seat. He appraised all of them with a cool look in his eye. For those that new, Jason was no longer with them. They were now dealing with the Twice Born Prince. 

When the dagger with a snake wrapped around the handle appeared in the middle of the dining table, a hush fell over the entire room. Jason casually reached over and patted Jamila’s arm to calm her down. They didn’t know how close they were to be dealing with the Demon.

Connor casually plucked her dagger out of the table before handling to Kyle to pass it back to her. Her lover (and here, Jason scowled) appeared at her side while taking their son into his arms. Jamila stood carefully as she trained her eyes onto Batman.

“You would dare,” she questioned softly. She sounded like a child playing grown up. It sent shivers down Jason and Talia’s spine. The ones from the future each took five steps back away from her. Shisui moved to the other side Talia and getting their son away. All of them knew how close she danced the line of embodying the Demon. And she didn’t need Lazarus for that. “You? The failure of a father that let not one, but two of his sons die. A failure at being a detective that you didn’t even know that your son was alive. That you had a daughter despite how much you fought against Grandfather? You who didn’t even know that it was my blade that ended the Joker? _YOU_? YOU **_PATHETIC_** EXCUSE OF A MAN?”

Jamila sneered at the man. “You dare to sit there and tell me that I wouldn’t be able to recognize my own child? Look at the five of them. Damian, Athanasia, Marah, and Suren still look the same appearance wise. You weren’t there. You did not have to sit there with your infant child while smoke filled the room. You didn’t have to sit there injured and so utterly _human_ and question who would be after your family and knowing you wouldn’t be able to help. You weren’t there to see the dark green eyes connecting with your own and knowing deep into your soul that this was your child.”

Her voice gained volume as her words grew more passionate. Her fingers were digging into the table and everyone could see her enhance biology at play as they crush the metal. “You will not sit here and call my family liars. You weren’t there! You don’t know the feeling of looking at your son. The child that came from your body. The only one to know what your heart looked like from inside and question where you went wrong. This life? The life of an Al Ghul? The legacy of the demon? I DIDN’T WANT THIS FOR HIM! I _FAILED_ HIM!”

She was yelling by this point and no one could say a word. She never looked away from Batman. “Look at them! They look like soldiers! They look like assassins! Demons in human skin! This was not the life I wished for my son! This was not the life I wished for my cousins. And the craziest part is? I didn’t fail them like _you_ did. You all who claim to be heroes. Who claim to be Earth’s protectors? You didn’t protect them! You didn’t save their future. I know what I am. But you all? How dare you try to claim a higher moral ground when you couldn’t save five children? You failed these children. You failed the world. You failed the universe. You _failed._”

Shisui appeared back at her side and place his hand over hers before disappearing from sight. Jamila took a deep breath before she sat back in her seat. “Question us after you question yourselves.”

She turned to look at her cousin. At her leader, “Permission to be excused, my lord?”

Jason smiled shrewdly, “Permission granted.” Jamila nodded once before she stood and turned. She gave the older version of her son a small smile and kiss on his forehead before she left the room. 

Jason turned back to look at the others, “Now that that is over with. Let’s talk business. We have a war that will be spanning across the universe in a probably a few short months. It will reach a new height of destruction in five years that will result in more than three quarters of the known universe dead. I already been killed once fighting the good fight. I plan to out peacefully and in my sleep this time. So, ideas? I need them now. What can you bring to this alliance?”

No one really wanted to say anything after Jamila’s outburst. Not that Jason blamed them. She was fucking terrifying when she was passionate about something. And Talia knew that the girl was blaming herself for Theseus’ future. Postpartum depression mixed in with this self-loathing was not going to do any wonders for her psyche. But she will prevail as she always does. She wouldn’t do anything less.

Jason was not ashamed to admit how amused he was as all the heroes looked around awkwardly. The pain and anger in her words. The weight of her accusations settled on their shoulders. The Demon’s Fist looked incredibly uncomfortable and yet still stood stewing in protective rage.

Despite Jamila only being a handful of years older, she was the only the parental figure they’ve known for the last five years. They watched her break and pull herself back together again for their sakes. They didn’t want to sit back and let these _fools_ insult her and their family. They didn’t like causing her distress.

She wasn’t their Jamila, but she had the potential to be. She was a damn good mother, and she did not fail them. She gave her life for them, and they will honor that. They save her. Save their family. Save the **_universe. _**They will let their counterparts grow into a beautiful future.

The elder version of Mara stepped forward. Her long dark tresses were braided down her back letting her multicolored eyes pierce the crowd. “My name is Mara Al Ghul. I stand with the rest of family. We come from five years into the future with a dire warning. This World. This universe is soon to be destroyed on a scale hitherto undreamt of.”

Everyone seemed tense with nervousness a seeing the young warrior standing before them. Looking at the younger version of her sitting at the table and comparing the two… well you see how horrible the future would grow to be. 

Talia glanced at her eldest child seeing his own teal green eyes darken with fury as he took in the scars on her body once again. She could see the self-loathing he had for himself. She knew how he felt because she felt it too. They hadn’t been able to save their family and now those same kids came back to save them. And Jason was so stressed. His duties as the Heir were weighing him down alongside training his body back up to fighting shape. Talia had a feeling that the council never wanted him to heal completely just so he could stay and listen to their pointless chatter. 

Oh, they wanted their soldier back, but they wanted their prince also. She rose her hand and Ubu stepped forward. She whispered into his ear before he stepped away. 

While that was happening, Barry and Wally both raised their hands. “How about we or Booster Gold take a peek to see what else we’re dealing with? Not that we don’t trust your words, but seeing is believing and I think it would help us all in the long run if we knew exactly what we were preventing, you know? Besides, what does Vandal even want to achieve?”

Ubu made his way over to Kyle before picking the man up and dropping him into the seat that Jamila had just occupied. A blush lit up his cheeks behind his mask, but he didn’t say anything as he reached over and entwined his fingers with Jason’s.

Jason squeeze his fingers as he shared a look with his second mother. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Barry. 

“I’m sure all of you have heard of the Lazarus Pits. Here in our homeland, we tend to call the Elysium Wells. They were a natural phenomenon that possessed restorative properties that could instantly heal injuries and even grant immortality. Ra Al Ghul was notorious for their uses,” Jason’s voice took on the side of a narrator as Kyle’s ring erupted into light and began to paint a scene through the ar. 

“Long ago, before the word of man was written down, Grandfather and our late ‘uncle’ Den Darga discovered the pits together. They worked on one of them together before disagreeing on how to use them and became mortal enemies. The fights amongst the two families will be legendary. Civil wars across the world will be fought in their image egged on by the whispers of Vandal Savage.”

They were all captivated as shadows of each three men seemed to grow around the glowing Earth of Kyle’s constructs. Jason was beaming with pride entirely at his lover’s work. 

“There’s a lot of lore surrounding the pits as even we do not know what their full extent was exactly. But that one pit the two of them worked on…” Jason trailed off. There was a faraway look in his eye. 

“The theory was that it was able to grant true immortality. I’m not talking about keeping someone alive when the dance the line of death. I’m not talking about constantly living and having to bath in the wells to keep your youth. This was something that not even Vandal’s immortality had on.”

Talia laid a hand on her son’s arm to indicate that she will begin to speak, “It is a widely known myth that humans only use 10% of their brain. If that theory was true, well then… this pit. This well? It granted humans the chance to use 100% of their brain. It would grant them the speed of the Flashes. The intellect of the wisest of men. It would grant them the strength of the Amazons and Kryptonian combined. The ability to breathe while under water like the Atlanteans. To be able to breath in space like Martians and Lanterns without the use of the ring. Break humans out of their limits and they gain power like your magicians or metahumans.”

“As much as Vandal hates to admit it, he was told of a time that he would infect by an illness that will slowly kill him and his immortality will not be able to save him. There was another timeline where he tried to use technology stolen from the Martian Manhunter to kill humanity but was killed by Barry Allen, who sacrificed his life to stop the alien device. Another confrontation with Martian Manhunter leaves him with a burnt-out eye, which seemingly afflicts him far into the future.”

“And then there was the timeline where Savage will possibly meet his end after he has lived to the year 85,271 A.D., when he is sent back in time to 20th century Montevideo, Uruguay, by a pair of doctored time travelling gauntlets, seconds before it is obliterated by a Rocket Red armorsuit carrying a huge nuclear payload, an action that was, ironically, ordered by Savage himself.”

Jason picked back up where she left off, “It took a week and most of this morning to gain this information. Vandal went to great lengths to make sure no one ever heard of it. His enemies having knowledge that he wasn’t as immortal as he appeared? _Blasphemy_. Its not like most of you would ever kill anyway. No, he wants this pit to make sure that no one could stop him.”

Red Robin’s brow was furrowed as he took in all the details. His hands were moving a mile a minute over his keyboard, “I thought that the Phantom Stranger cleansed the demon from the pits?”

Talia and Jason nodded their heads. “He did. He purged Lazarus from the world and sent it back to hell. So, no Al Ghul has Lazarus in them not even baby Theseus. No pit has him within it. We Al Ghuls and the Dargas just have long life spans and a healing factor. Unfortunately, Lazarus isn't as gone as you think. It will take years before it could fight its way back to Earth. It would take centuries before it could build up its power. And that pit they worked on together? That’s it. A gateway.”

The young version of Mara leaned forward a little in her chair with a wicked gleam in her eye, “Legend has it that the spirit of my Father, Dusan, and Suren’s mother, Feryal, guard the pit. It will take the sacrifice of someone with great finesse to lure Lazarus back to Earth.”

Suren nodded his head serenely, “Digging up information on that pit had been hard. Father and Lord Ra went through great lengths to make sure information was never found on them. But the one thing that could be agreed on, only the spirits of the a Darga and Al Ghul will be able to guard them. Mother and Uncle Dusan are there now. I have no doubt it will be me and one of my clan cousins that will guard it next.”

Jason snorted just slightly, “Or, and I like this plan the most, Ra and Den could just spend the rest of eternity together and guard it. Give us all some peace. I can_not_ keep fighting the Untitled for the rest of my life.”

The younger version of Damian scoffed lightly, “Calm down, brother. As if any of us will let you stain your blade with the blood of the unworthy any longer.”

Athanasia nodded from beside him, “It wouldn’t be right. Look at our future selves. We are destined to be the Demon’s Fist. We will not let those monsters plague the earth. Its why we shall defeat Vandal now.”

Suren tilted his head to the side, “I say with go after the Untitled now and get rid of them. That’ll be one less enemy to face.”

Jason slammed his hands onto the table, “Absolutely not. You four will staying here training and finishing up on your schoolwork. If and that it a very big if, we decide to let even be apart of this war, we will let you know. You are only here in this meeting because of your status. Your destinies as the future Demon’s Fist is still not certain. I didn’t even want these five to be the Demon’s Fist. I never wanted to bring it back. And that is all I will speak on that matter.”

Talia resisted the urge to cover her face with her hands as her family spiraled off topic. They had more important things to worry about than the children joining the war. They hadn’t even began planning instead of worrying about what soldiers would place where. (Though she is certain that Jamila and Jason will agree with her to place them all somewhere with another transporter to save themselves and try again if they failed.)

Sighing Talia rose her hand before any of her brats could reply, “Lets us take a break to digest all the information given. It’s a lot at the moment. We will reconvene in, hm, two hours? Guards will escort you to the show rooms and other dining halls for comfort or food. They will try to their best to cater to your every need. There will be rooms that are off-limits so please be respectful of boundaries. Dismissed.”

Gliding away from the table, Talia went in search of her niece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to heat up and we still haven't reach the climax. I'm think I'm honestly trying to see how much angst I push for before everything starts to go to hell and I have to find a way to fix it. 
> 
> [these two chapters were ready months ago. I honestly don't want to lie and come up with an excuse on why I didn't post them. truth was? I forgot. completely.]
> 
> as always this work is unbeta'd. (lmao I really need one of those though. rereading my writing? hilarious.)
> 
> You can chat with Jamila and the rest of the Al Ghul clan on tumblr @thedemonheads or you can yell at me on tumblr @kneeshee & @jaytodd2
> 
> xoxo Nesh

**Author's Note:**

> And we are back with our beloved Al Ghul family featuring the Waynes etc etc. Its time for war. There will be flashbacks of the future. There will be more mentions of how our beloved family is doing since Nyssa's attack. 
> 
> My other fic "Dimension Traveling is a Dick" is set in this universe. So the time line goes Little Devil - the Demon's Fist - DTD.. BUT.. DTD is basically a stand alone fic and it wont need to be read to understand this one. 
> 
> At the end of LD, Theseus was four months.  
In DTD, he would be a year and a half.  
He would be seven months here. 
> 
> Things are still rough for our family, okay. They were used to have super healing. They're all getting a crash course of how human they really were. And well, you'll see. 
> 
> You can chat with Jamila and the rest of the Al Ghul clan on tumblr @thedemonheads or you can yell at me on tumblr @kneeshee & @jaytodd2


End file.
